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Chinese Media Censor Parts of President Obama's Inauguration Speech

February 1, 2009

An official "full text" Chinese language translation of President Barack Obama's January 20, 2009, inauguration speech that appeared in major state-controlled Chinese news media omitted two paragraphs and the words "and communism," according to a review of the translation as it appeared on the Web sites of those media organizations on January 21.

An official "full text" Chinese language translation of President Barack Obama's January 20, 2009, inauguration speech that appeared in major state-controlled Chinese news media omitted two paragraphs and the words "and communism," according to a review of the translation as it appeared on the Web sites of those media organizations on January 21. In addition, after President Obama said the word "communism," China's national television station, China Central Television (CCTV), cut away from live coverage of the speech, as shown in a video posted on the CCTV Web site on January 21. (The full text of the speech is available on the Presidential Inaugural Committee Web site; a transcript of the speech as delivered by President Obama is available on the New York Times Web site.)

[UPDATE, January 26, 2009: On January 22, the People's Daily, the Communist Party's flagship newspaper, posted its own "full text" translation of President Obama's speech. The Congressional-Executive Commission on China retrieved that translation from the People's Daily Web site on January 23 and saved a copy here. At the time, the People's Daily translation included the words "and communism" as well as the omitted paragraphs. On January 26, the CECC accessed the same link and found that the words "and communism" had been omitted, even though the original post date of January 22, 2009, 15:48, remained unchanged.]

Omitted Passages; "Silencing of Dissent"

The following two paragraphs, which appear about two-thirds into President Obama's 18-minute speech, were omitted from the "full text" Chinese translation prepared by the official China Daily and reprinted on the Web sites of CCTV (omitted paragraphs should have appeared on page 4), Xinhua, China's central news agency, Sina.com, a popular domestic news and information portal (omitted paragraphs should have appeared on page 2), and People's Daily (omitted paragraphs should have appeared on page 4):

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

Sina.com also posted a video with Chinese subtitles of President Obama's entire speech on the Web page where the "full text" Chinese translation begins. As of January 22, the subtitles do not omit the passages above.

"Communism"

About 11 minutes into President Obama's speech, he said: "Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions." The words "and communism" were omitted from the official China Daily translation (omitted words should have appeared on page 3) and its reprint on the Web sites of CCTV (omitted words should have appeared on page 3), Xinhua, Sina.com (omitted words should have appeared on page 2), and People's Daily (omitted words should have appeared on page 3).

As shown in the CCTV video, the station muted audio of the simultaneous interpreter shortly after she translated the word "communism." The screen then cut to the anchor hosting the coverage. It is unclear whether the anchor was caught off guard. (See January 21 BBC report for 30-second clip of this portion of CCTV's live coverage.) The anchor responded by turning to a CCTV reporter in Washington, DC and asking her about the challenges President Obama faces in dealing with the economy. While the station had earlier cut away about five minutes into the speech for three minutes of analysis by the Washington reporter (while the speech ran in the background in English for much of this time), it is unclear whether the later cut away was planned. The latter cut away, which included a background segment on President Obama, lasted for about seven minutes before simultaneous translation resumed with about one minute left in the speech.

Chinese subtitles that appear at the bottom of the video on Sina.com on January 21 also omit the reference to "communism."

English Text Reprinted in Chinese Media

The reference to "communism" and the passages noted above were not removed from the English text of the speech as reprinted on the China Daily Web site (communism, passages) on January 21, as reprinted on CCTV's Web site (communism, passages) on January 21, and as reprinted on Xinhua's Web site on January 21.

Past Censorship of U.S. Officials

Chinese media have censored the remarks of top American officials in the past. According to an April 20, 2004, New York Times (NYT) report, the official "full text" of then Vice President Dick Cheney's 2004 speech in Shanghai that appeared on major Chinese Web sites omitted references to political freedom, Taiwan, North Korea, and other topics that propaganda officials deemed politically sensitive. The NYT report also said that a CCTV broadcast of a 2003 interview with then Secretary of State Colin L. Powell left out references to human rights abuses and other issues despite a diplomatic agreement to broadcast the interview unedited.

For other accounts of the omissions from full text versions of President Obama's speech in Chinese media, see, e.g., a January 21 NYT report and a January 21 Times of London report.

For more information on how the Chinese government and Communist Party's policies toward China's media lead to censorship of information considered politically sensitive, see Section II - Freedom of Expression, in the CECC 2008 Annual Report.